Finally, the weather is co-operating a bit, and we can go back to thinking we live in Paradise.

And to bolster that sweet delusion, there’s that ethereal music you’ll hear all over town this week: We must be in heaven, complete with soundtrack.

Or maybe it’s just the 11th World Harp Congress.

For the first time ever, all the world’s great harpists (and some of the ordinary ones) converge on the city this week to discuss affairs of the harp and to play their little harps out.

Sorry. I can’t help it.

There’s something about the 11th World Harp Congress that makes me smile. It’s like a gathering of angels. You expect them to have seminars on how to keep their wing feathers groomed and their haloes shiny.

In truth, it’s a little more practical: the program includes panel discussions on editing orchestra parts and how to avoid carpal harp syndrome, what to do when you bust a rod, how to travel with your harp and a lecture on yoga and Pilates for harpists.

Then you have the concerts: jazz harp, blues harp (actual harps, not harmonicas!), techno harp, ancient harp, Middle Eastern harp, Celtic harp, Latin American harp. Music to tug at the strings of your harp, er, heart.

The breadth of human endeavour never ceases to amaze.

At one end of the evolutionary spectrum you have UFC mixed martial arts, where the object is to smash and grunt as a bloodthirsty mob howls encouragement.

At the other end is the World Harp Congress, where the object is to gather 800 people from 40 countries around the world to make beautiful music.

Vancouver has always been a great place for groups to get together and talk about business, and ever since they rolled out the green carpet on top of the new convention centre, it has gone from great to record-breaking.

In 2010, 350 events brought $215 million in economic activity to the city, while 2011 will see 413 events, including the largest ever: in August, the Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques (SIGGRAPH) will attract 20,000 delegates and 50 million bucks.

And really, the timing couldn’t be any better. After the worst winter and spring in nearly a century coupled with the world’s stupidest riot, the song of the harp will go a long way to soothing the beast, and SIGGRAPH will lure much-needed Americans back to Granville Island and the totem poles of Stanley Park.

Dan Brown’s Vatican may feature Angels and Demons. But here in Vancouver, we’ve got Angels and Nerds. Boo-yah!